Plug Mayo into Motorway Network

September 27, 2017

Claremorris Chamber of Commerce has called on the Government to sanction the planned motorway between Galway and Mayo in its forthcoming capital spending plan.

Ahead of the opening of the M17-M18 Gort-Tuam motorway on Wednesday 27 September, the business group said plugging Mayo into the national motorway network would be a huge boost for regional development.

“The original plan was to build the motorway from Gort to Claremorris”, said spokesman Kealan Flynn. “With Gort-Tuam now open, and an extra €4 billion for capital spending, money is not a problem. The Design Report, EIS and CPO documents for the 28 km from Tuam to Claremorris are done. The CPOs could be issued today. The next stage of the Atlantic Corridor could be open 18 months after the first sod is turned. A short stretch from Claremorris to the N5 – and Castlebar and Westport would also be linked to the national motorway network”, he added.

The Government has pledged an Atlantic Economic Corridor to enable the west to catch up the east. With the Cork-Limerick motorway a national priority, a three-city region – Cork, Limerick, Galway – is taking shape. Extending the motorway from Galway, first to Mayo and then to Sligo, pulls in the west and north-west, and puts an all-island, post-Brexit economy within reach. The Atlantic Economic Corridor is supported by 2,250 Irish-owned and multinational firms employing 73,500 people in the west, mid-west and north-west regions.

Claremorris Chamber of Commerce is calling on the Government to ensure the west and north-west regions get a fair share of the spend from the capital plan due by year-end.